Tag: Seung Hwan Oh

Tomorrow is the last day of 2017! Where does the time go? (Probably the same place that missing socks from the dryer go.) One of the United Cardinals Bloggers projects every year is to post what we believe were the top 5 Cardinals stories of the year. There was a lot happening with the Cardinals this year, so it was hard to select just 5 top stories. Like the countdown to midnight on New Year’s Eve, I will count down from 5 to 1.

5. The Matt Adams left field experiment. Left fielders have been moved to first base before (see Albert Pujols), but I do not remember the reverse ever happening – until it did. Bloggers and Cardinals fans alike scratched their heads at Mike Matheny’s bizarre experiment. Thankfully, the Adams experiment ended and Matt was traded to the Braves. Matt was later released by the Braves and picked up by the Nationals.

4. MLB’s punishment on the Cardinals for Hackergate. MLB finally laid the smackdown on the Cardinals for Chris Correa’s hacking of the Astros’ computer system. All things considered, the punishment was pretty lenient – a $2 million fine and the loss of the Cards’ top two draft picks to the Astros. It could have been worse.

3.Bullpen meltdown. Seung Hwan Oh did not repeat his stellar 2016 season, leading to his release. Trevor Rosenthal was injured and had to have Tommy John surgery. The Cards released Trevor at the end of the season. The big signing of Brett Cecil was a bust. Juan Nicasio was picked up off of waivers from the Phillies in September, too late to qualify for the playoffs, but he pitched very well and I, along with a lot of other fans, were hoping that the Cardinals would sign him. Unfortunately, the Mariners signed Juan for a lot more money than I’d be willing to pay him.

2.The signing of Marcell Ozuna. The Cardinals lost out on Giancarlo Stanton, but that didn’t stop John Mozeliak from signing Ozuna. I think the Ozuna signing was a good one. Ozuna is friends with some of the Cardinals players, so he will fit in well with the team. It touched my heart when I read that Ozuna wants to make Cardinals fans smile. Ozuna’s signing, however, led to Stephen Piscotty being traded to the A’s so he can be closer to his mother, who suffers from MLS. And what will happen to Randal Grichuk? Stay tuned for As the Outfield Turns.

1. The emergence of Tommy Pham. Tommy has been in the Cardinals system for a long time. He has battled through injury and an eye disease, but this season, Tommy upped his game and became the best player on the team. His emergence led the team to move Dexter Fowler to left field so that Tommy could play center field exclusively.

This off-season has seemed incredibly long, hasn’t it? Mo has made a few deals (Ozuna, Mikolas) and changed up the coaching staff (welcome back, Jose and Willie – we really missed you), but there are other additions that need to be made so that this club can compete in 2018. Hopefully after the first of the year, Mo will get out there and get it done. The hot stove is losing its heat – and I’m not talking about the current frigid weather in the St. Louis area.

Winter Warm-Up is in 3 weeks and I can’t wait. John Tudor, my favorite pitcher from the 1980s, will be signing autographs and I have my autograph ticket already. You can order the free autograph tickets online to get them in advance so you don’t have to wait in long lines at Winter Warm-Up. A lot of the free autograph tickets are already sold out, so don’t wait! If you’re going to be at Winter Warm-Up, follow me on Twitter (check out the Twitter feed over in the right hand column) and maybe we can meet up!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season! Have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year, and may the Cardinals finally win the World Series again in 2018! Thanks as always for reading, and see you next time!

I’ve had a while to get over the fact that the Cardinals didn’t make the playoffs, and that those pesky Cubs won the World Series instead of Cleveland. However, I walk across the street from Busch Stadium on my way to the Metrolink station every day, and seeing all the flags at the stadium put away for the winter makes me sad. But life goes on, and on this Election Eve, it’s now time for the 2016 Cardinals Blogger Awards. You are invited to vote for the 2016 Blogger Awards until November 18, 2016 (that’s my birthday, BTW), and here’s the link for you to cast your ballot: 2016 Cardinals Blogger Award Ballot. My selections in each of these categories are listed below, but don’t let that affect your vote. 🙂

Jhonny Peralta got hurt (what’s new?). Aledmys took over and took off like a rocket. If Aledmys hadn’t gotten hit by an Andrew Cashner pitch, he may have been one of the candidates for the NL Rookie of the Year. I’m looking forward to seeing what Aledmys can do in seasons to come.

As Adam Wainwright faltered early in the season and had a rough stretch in August, Carlos took over the position of ace on the staff. He had a 16-9 record, the best record of the staff. His pitches and the speed of his pitches were wicked. I can’t wait to see how he pitches next season.

The July 16 game was a magical game in a season that was less than magical. Adam Wainwright pitched one of the games of his career in front of his teammates from the 2006 World Series who had come to town to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Cards’ World Series win. Waino showed he could still pitch like a master.

I’m sure we all thought “Jedd who?” when we heard that Mo had traded Jon Jay to the Padres. Jedd showed his grit and his moxie as he hit home runs when it counted. The Cards got the best end of that deal, especially when Jay got injured and was out most of the season.

I was going to select Kolten Wong, but he didn’t play enough to give a good sample size. Mike Leake got my only write in vote instead. There was a great deal of hoopla when he was signed, and it was hoped he would help with the team since Lance Lynn was out after Tommy John surgery, but he only had a 9-12 record and a 4.69 ERA. Hopefully, Leake will pitch better next year.

Oh was the best player that Mo picked up last winter. Oh was originally signed for eighth inning relief, but he flourished in the closer role when Trevor Rosenthal got hurt. “Stone Buddha” is one of Oh’s nicknames and if you watch him pitch, you see why. There is no emotion on Oh’s face when he pitches.

A tie here, but I selected them for different reasons. Derrick is great on Twitter and very responsive to followers who tweet at him. His columns are informative and well written. Rob does a great job covering the Cardinals on his (and wife Sally’s) website STLSportsPage.com. Rob has great analysis.

I will take Proverbs 27:2 to heart (Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth, A stranger, and not your own lips.), and not vote for my own post. I found myself liking two of the other posts equally well. Daniel’s post took Rob Rains’ interview with Kolten Wong and expanded upon it. Chase’s post covers the race problems in today’s game and is very well written.

Bob Netherton (a/k/a Big Green Bob) is my favorite UCB Twitter guy. He doesn’t write many blog posts, but that’s okay because short-form writing is his best game. He tells it like it is and doesn’t mince words or characters when it comes to the Cards. If he’s in the mood, he will post what he calls Twitter Tales, where he takes a classic Cards game and posts it on Twitter, 140 characters/letters at a time. When he’s not expounding on the Cards, he posts Twitter posts with photos of yummy food cooked on his Big Green Egg barbecue grill.

Don’t forget, tomorrow is Election Day, so go out there and do your civic duty. And don’t forget to vote for the 2016 UCB Blogger Awards! Here’s the link again for that, so you don’t have to scroll back up to the top – 2016 Cardinals Blogger Award Ballot. Thanks for reading! See you next time!

I have watched the Cardinals play this season, and I have come to the conclusion that this year is not our year. I know what you’re thinking. Diane, the 2011 Cardinals were 11 ½ games out and they managed to get into the playoffs and win the World Series. But that was a different manager and a different team. There are only 6 players from that 2011 team on the 2016 team – Adams, Holliday, Wainwright, Lance Lynn, Jaime Garcia and Molina. Molina is playing well. Wainwright is starting to return to form, but Adams is only now starting to hit better and Holliday is showing his age. It’s hard to tell what Jaime Garcia you’re going to get when he starts – Good Jaime or Bad Jaime. And Lance Lynn is on the DL for the year after Tommy John surgery. Also, the only coaches left from that 2011 team are Derek Liliquist and Jose Oquendo.

The Cards are playing this year like teams who never make the playoffs; for example, the Phillies. The Cubs are in first in the NL Central and they’re playing like a team who wants to win. As a Cards fan, I hate to admit it, but this could finally be the Cubs’ year.

Let’s look at an overview of the Cards’ performance this season. Lowlights – there are many. Ruben Tejada pitching in relief may have been when the season jumped the shark. Rosenthal is experimenting with pitches while he’s trying to save a game, like at the game I was at last Saturday. Matt Holliday’s batting average has been sinking like a rock (although he did hit a home run today), and Mike Matheny refuses to move him from the third spot in the batting order. Jhonny Peralta’s thumb injury put a major monkey wrench in the season, but hopefully, he will be back soon. Jose Oquendo has really been missed in the third base box and his absence has contributed to some terrible baserunning errors. Michael Wacha’s mechanics are seriously messed up. He should be sent to the minor leagues for some work. Carlos Martinez started the season strong, but he has not pitched well at all in his last few starts. And how is it that Kolten Wong can make spectacular plays seem routine but mess up routine plays?

Highlights – there are a few. Aledmys Diaz has impressed with his bat, but he is still making rookie mistakes with his glove. Molina’s batting average is much better this year. Stephen Piscotty has been a shining star, making us forget Jason Heyward. Seung Hwan Oh was John Mozeliak’s best off-season pick up. He has been lights out in relief. Unfortunately, Oh showed he really was human in today’s game when he gave up three runs and a home run. Perhaps Oh should be the closer instead of Rosenthal?

This has not been my year either. The presidential candidate I backed dropped out of the race, and I was passed over for a job I really wanted and was recommended for, along with some other personal things going on in my life that it’s not necessary to talk about here. Cardinals baseball is a great distraction when things go south in my personal life, but this year, the Cards are not playing well so I don’t even have that. Can we just turn back the calendar to January 1, 2016 and have a do-over?

Cards fans have seen their team go to the playoffs for the last few years and we are spoiled. We’ve forgotten how to handle it when our team is bad. So if you have the opportunity to attend a Cards game this season, go to have fun hanging out with your friends and/or family. Just don’t expect to see winning baseball. If the Cards do win, that’s a plus.

I realize that it’s almost the end of May and there still may be time to rescue the sinking S.S. Cardinals ship. If the Cards can resurrect this season and make the playoffs, I’ll be happy to eat my words. Just write them in icing on a large chocolate chip cookie, please.

That’s all for now! Hopefully, I will have a more upbeat blog post next time. See you then!

Today may be Hump Day but more importantly for Cardinals fans, today is Pitchers and Catchers Report Day! Baseball is back, baby! PCRD is a major holiday on the Cardinal calendar. It signals the end of the off-season and the beginning of spring training. Some of the Cardinals players reported to camp early, including new Korean relief pitcher Seung Hwan Oh. (Oh, the puns that will be made with that last name. Poor guy.)

I saw a meme on Facebook the other day that changes the names of the calendar seasons with baseball seasons. Instead of spring, summer, fall and winter, there is spring training, regular season, post-season and off-season. Although the winter has been pretty mild here in the St. Louis area, the grey, dreary days leave me longing for baseball. This has been a long week this week, waiting for Wednesday.

I’m so excited that baseball is back! I hope you are too. Here’s a poem I posted in February 2014, and it still applies today:

Ode to Spring Training

Cardinals fans cheer! The day’s finally here,
We’ve waited for all winter long,
It’s time to rejoice, so lift up your voice,
And come and join me in this song!

Pitchers and catchers report,
Pitchers and catchers report,
Four words that say spring’s on its way,
Pitchers and catchers report!

The winter’s been long and dreary,
With snow and cold galore,
And although our hearts were weary,
They’re not that way anymore!

Because today –

Pitchers and catchers report,
Pitchers and catchers report,
Four words that say spring’s on its way,
Pitchers and catchers report!

Yes, there is a tune for this, and hopefully some year, I will make a video of me singing it. Until then, however, you’ll have to enjoy the printed lyrics.